Cuomo's commissions scored wins and criticism

Cuomo's office has recruited top names in government, business and academia to serve on his commissions and task forces. They often formed at critical points in his tenure.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to the media following a press conference and bill signing that authorizes New York City to lower their speed limit, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014, in New York.(Photo: (AP Photo/John Minchillo))

ALBANY – As Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces scrutiny by federal prosecutors over his office's alleged meddling in a corruption-busting panel last year, his administration's role in other commissions has drawn questions, but also victories.

Since taking office in 2011, Cuomo has brought together groups to reach consensus on health-care cuts, education reform and tax policy changes. And he's argued that the panels helped the state out of major budget deficits, including one to streamline state services.

"From delivering tax relief and redesigning Medicaid to restructuring government and strengthening our schools, convening experts and stakeholders from different fields has helped deliver real results that have made a difference in the lives of New Yorkers," Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said in a statement.

In interviews with about a dozen members of Cuomo's various commissions since he took office in 2011, some said they never felt pressured to reach a particular outcome, while others described frustrations with the governor's office's oversight of the panels' work.

"All of these things, upfront, it's very clear that they are advisory," said Carol Kellerman, executive director of the Citizen Budget Commission, a business-backed group, who served on two of Cuomo's nearly dozen commissions. "They don't have any ongoing responsibilities or authority."

Critics said the commissions -- long before his Moreland Commission to root out corruption in state government drew the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office -- were sometimes steered through the governor's second floor offices at the Capitol.

After Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, Cuomo empaneled his first Moreland Commission with broad powers to look ways to prepare for storms. In less than two months, it backed privatizing the Long Island Power Authority -- a position Cuomo supported.

"There became a couple-of-week period where I thought the so-called second floor was trying to steer a commission they lauded as independent toward a predetermined political result," said Mark Green, a former New York City public advocate who served on the storm commission.

Green said he opposed the LIPA privatization, even though the governor's office suggested the panel unanimously supported the decision. Cuomo ultimately backed off the privatization plans amid public backlash.

"The second floor did periodically intervene in our Sandy commission in a way that made me uncomfortable, though it was not to the same degree as we read about with (the second Moreland Commission)," said Green, who ran for attorney general in a Democratic primary against Cuomo in 2006.

Azzopardi defended the panel's work.

"The LIPA Moreland Commission was an unquestionable success," he said. "It helped prompt legislation that ended LIPA as we know it. Their work speaks for itself, and at the end of the day the final model was not privatization but a hybrid with just the operations privatized and run by PSEG."

Cuomo's office is under investigation by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for allegedly steering the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption away from his allies. Cuomo shuttered the panel last March in exchange for some ethics reforms. The governor under a century-old law can create a Moreland Commission to investigate state government.

Cuomo's office has recruited top names in government, business and academia to serve on his commissions and task forces. They often formed at critical points in his tenure.

Facing a $10 billion budget gap in 2011 and growing Medicaid costs, he convened hospitals, unions and interest groups to cut spending in the health-insurance program for the poor and disabled.

It worked, leading to $17 billion in savings through this year, budget documents show. The reforms also led to an $8 billion Medicaid waiver in February, staving off cuts to programs and hospitals.

Lara Kassel, executive director of Medicaid Matters, a consumer-rights group, said the panel helped "in the transformation that we are now seeing in New York's Medicaid program."

Cuomo's Common Core panel on student testing produced a report after three meetings in March, and most of the changes were implemented. The state delayed using the controversial test results in student scores and in most teacher evaluations.

Stan Litow, an IBM executive who headed the panel, called it a success. He said Cuomo's office didn't interfere, though they were under a tight schedule in advance of the state's fiscal year April 1.

He said no commission makes everyone happy.

"The fact that it was issued in a timely fashion and it was pretty responsive, it got this bi-partisan support and it led to legislative action," Litow said.

Other panels miffed some members. A 23-member Mandate Relief Redesign Team met in 2011 to find ways to limit local government costs. Yet they only saw the recommendations hours before the report was released publicly, and without many of their suggestions.

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, a member, said at the time she expected to "at least see a copy before it went to the public."

Stephen Acquario, executive director of the state Association of Counties, said the mandate panel was disbanded too soon. It was replaced with another mandate relief group made up mainly of Cuomo's aides.

"I was quite disappointed because it concluded without consensus and so it was sort of disbanded," he said. But he said it did lead to pension reform and the state taking on the growth of counties' Medicaid costs.

Another panel petered out. In July 2011, Cuomo launched the Chairman's Committee of businesses, unions, colleges and others to help oversee 10 regional councils that compete for tax breaks and grants.

By mid-April 2012, the group hadn't met. The full panel then met once after two members voiced frustration publicly.

But some of the members said it wasn't a complete waste: Some were later tasked to reform the state's unemployment insurance program. The reforms were implemented and praised.

"We really wanted that committee to tackle those regulatory issues. Right now, we've taken up unemployment insurance and have done a little bit with worker's compensation, but we're waiting for more," said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate, a Rochester-based business group.

Cuomo also had two commissions to address taxes because New York has among the highest taxes in the nation.

The first one, the Tax Reform and Fairness Commission, was formed in December 2012 to recommend long-term changes to the state's income-tax code. Yet some members questioned why 10 months later Cuomo formed a separate Tax Relief Commission to find ways to cut taxes by $2 billion in advance of this year's budget -- an election year for Cuomo and legislators.

James Parrott, deputy director of the union-backed Fiscal Policy Institute and a member of the first tax panel, criticized the move.

When Cuomo "wanted big and irresponsible tax cuts, he formed another commission to do that," Parrott said.

A 137-page analysis prepared for the first tax commission by a pair of academics was ultimately critical of the state's refundable tax-credit programs, particularly a $420-million-a-year credit for television and film productions that has been touted by Cuomo. But the criticism wasn't included in the commission's final report, and the analysis was never formally published.

Investment banker Peter Solomon, a co-chairman of the first tax panel, told Gannett the group's work "would have benefited greatly from more support" from Cuomo. He questioned why Cuomo launched the second panel.

"Neither the members of the first commission nor the members of the second commission understand why he appointed a second commission. It didn't seem to make any sense. Period,"​ Solomon said.